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Vithoba facts for kids

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Syayambhuvithoba
Vithoba of Pandharpur

Vithoba is a Hindu god worshipped mainly in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is also known as Vitthala and Panduranga. He is generally considered a form of the Hindu god Vishnu or Krishna. In stone images and pictures, he is shown as a dark young boy. He stands on a brick with his hands on his waist. His wife Rukmini or Rakhumai stands with him.

Vithoba's main temple is at Pandharpur in Maharashtra. It is close to its border with Karnataka. Two Hindu sects, the Varkari sect of Maharashtra and Haridasa sect of Karnataka worship Vithoba as their main god. The Varkari poet-saints have written devotional poems called abhangas in praise of god Vithoba. The abhangas are written in the language Marathi. The Haridasa poets have also written poems, devoted to Vithoba in the Kannada language. The two most important festivals associated with Vithoba are Shayani Ekadashi in the Hindu month of Ashadha, and Prabodini Ekadashi in the Hindu month of Kartik.

Images for kids

  • A black and white photograph of a stone icon of an arms-akimbo man standing on a brick and wearing a dhoti, angarkha (shirt), uparna (cloth that flows over both his hands), a crown, fish-shaped earrings and long necklaces till his waist.

    A 1922 photograph of the Vithoba icon in Pandharpur adorned with jewellery and clothes.

  • Pundalik temple

    Pundalik's temple at Pandharpur

  • Vithoba temple Pandharpur west gate

    The shikhara of the Vithoba's chief temple at Pandharpur

  • Udaigiri Cave 6bb

    An arms-akimbo Vishnu from Udaygiri Caves.

  • A silver door with ten panels in two columns. The panels depict from top left clockwise a lion-faced man, a man with a bow and axe, a man with a bow, a man playing a flute, a man on a horse, a man with one of his feet on the head of a kneeling man, an arms-akimbo man, a boar-faced man, a man whose body below the waist is a tortoise and a man whose body below the waist is a fish.

    Vithoba (left, 4th from top) replaces Buddha in a depiction of the Dashavatar—ten avatars (of Vishnu)—on the door of Sree Balaji Temple, Goa.

  • Vithoba

    This bronze image from a home shrine inherits the traditional attributes of Vithoba's Pandharpur image like the conical headgear, the fish shaped earrings, the gem stubbed necklace, and the brick. This image shows Vithoba's right hand making a blessing gesture and his left hand holding a shankha.

  • Vitthal - Rakhumai

    Vithoba (left) with his consort Rakhumai at the Sion Vitthal temple, Mumbai, decorated with jewellery during the Hindu festival of Diwali

  • Palkhi 2008

    A Varkari journeys from Alandi to Pandharpur. He carries a veena (lute) with saffron flag attached, and cymbals tied to strings in his hands.

  • View of dilapidated main mantapa at the Vitthala templein Hampi

    The Vitthala temple in Hampi, Karnataka, was built by Krishnadevaraya, whose guru Vyasatirtha was a key Haridasa figure.

  • Alandi Palki 08

    Dnyaneshwar's palkhi (palanquin), holding the footwear of the saint, is carried with honour in a silver bullock cart from Alandi to Pandharpur.

  • Panduranga

    A four-armed Vithoba, a 19th-century painting from Tiruchchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. Here, Vithoba is depicted as an arms-akimbo Vishnu.

  • An elaborate, carved entrance to a Hindu temple whose canopy is visible at the top of the image. The entrance section is polygonal with arches and there is a stone staircase leading into the grey/cream coloured structure. Several pilgrims are seen in the foreground, as is a stall.

    The chief gate of Vithoba's Pandharpur temple. The first step of the temple is regarded as saint Namdev's memorial and the small blue temple in front of the gate is saint Chokhamela's memorial.

  • Thennangur Panduranga temple panorama

    Thennangur temple, Tamil Nadu

  • Vithoba Punadalik Tukaram Dnyaneshwar

    Image of a gopuram of a Pandharpur temple near Vithoba's central temple. The leftmost panel depicts Tukaram, the central panel depicts Vithoba (standing dark figure, left) waiting on the brick as Pundalik (centre) serves his parents, the right panel depicts Dnyaneshwar.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Vithoba para niños

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